Australian prime minister under pressure to revise agenda

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s prime minister has come under pressure from his own lawmakers to revise his economic agenda after his weakened coalition scraped through one of the nation’s closest ever elections.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s centre-right Liberal Party lost at least 14 lawmakers in knife-edge polls on July 2 that left the coalition with a majority of only one or two seats in the House of Representatives where parties form government. Votes are still being counted.

Government lawmakers Eric Abetz and Chris Black on Thursday blamed the surprise swing against the government partly on plans to increase taxes on the pension funds of wealthy Australians.

Such public criticism of official policy from government lawmakers is rare and proof that the election victory has not healed deep rifts in the administration’s ranks.